Students shine at County Literacy Festival

Six middle school students emerged victorious at the Fayette County Middle School Literacy Festival, earning the opportunity to represent the school system at the Griffin Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) Literacy Days Festival.

Students competed in the areas of Ready Writing and Poetry Recitation. A winner was selected for each grade level in both categories.

The Ready Writing finalists are Caroline Moses (Whitewater, 6th grade), Bella Kirchner (Whitewater, 7th), and Nate Pacetti (Rising Starr, 8th).

In this category, students are given a prompt and begin writing on the spot. They have 60 minutes to complete their papers, and are judged on ideas, organization, and style.

The Poetry Recitation finalists are Reagan Harvey (Flat Rock, 6th grade), Simone Antoine (Flat Rock, 7th), and Madison Kellerman (Whitewater, 8th).

In this category, students select and recite a poem from memory within a seven-minute timeframe. Students must use their voice and upper body for emphasis; they cannot move their feet or walk around. Students are judged on stage presence, articulation, interpretation, difficulty of the piece, and accuracy.

The district-level finalists advance to the GRESA Literacy Competition on February 10, 2022. The six finalists will compete with other students from school systems within the region, which includes the counties of Butts, Henry, Lamar, Newton, Pike, Spalding, and Upson.